moon_guardfandomcom-20200213-history
Crushridge-Syndicate War
'''The Crushridge-Syndicate War '''was the first extended conflict between the freed Crushridge Clan of Ogres and the Alterac Syndicate criminal empire for control of portions of the former Kingdom of Alterac. The war served as a minor proxy conflict between the Argus Wake and forces belonging to the Scourge, led primarily by agents of the Cult of the Damned. Prelude to Tragedy As the Third War began winding down, the collapse of order in Lordaeron left multiple factions vying for control of the former Kingdom. During this window of opportunity, the Cult worked to spread the Scourge influence outside of Lordaeron. A faction of the Cult of the Damned had turned their attention south, into the less populated but still unstable fallen Kingdom of Alterac. In their possession was the Crown of Will, a Highborne artifact looted from the ravaged nation of Quel'thalas during the Scourge's assault. With several disparate forces controlling swathes of its territory, the Cult formulated a plan to turn these groups against one another to raise those who fell in their conflict into the Scourge's service, eventually overpowering the survivors in the region and establishing Scourge hegemony. Ogres: Pawns of the Banshee No Longer Rumor of the Crown being in Alterac was spread by the Cult's minions through the Forsaken ranks and soon word reached the Banshee Queen herself. Ordering Mug'thol to capture the Crown was critical to their plan, because only when Ogre chieftain claimed the Crown he placed it on his head would it break Sylvanas' control over him. Although initially hoping that Sylvanas herself would attempt to secure the Crown in order to catch her alone and allow the Forsaken to crumble, the Forsaken's Ogre forces being removed from her ranks ultimately alleviated some pressure in Tirisfal. Following Mug'thol's independence from Sylvanas, the Crushridge then staked claim on the mountains, feuding initially with frost trolls in the region before being 'attacked' by Syndicate forces. In truth, an attack initiated by the Cult. The war between the Ogres & the Syndicate had begun. The Cult soon established themselves in a former nobleman's estate in a remote part of Alterac, using a score of undead frost trolls to slay the estate's inhabitants, observing the Ogre clan's movements as the Crushridge began moving further into the nation. Although they initially were able to raise those who fell, both human and ogre, with impunity, soon the bodies of the dead began turning up purposely charred postmortem. Another force had apparently become aware of the Cult's presence in the Kingdom, one who soon revealed themselves as the Argus Wake. Aliden's Counterattack Aliden Perenolde was the heir to Alterac's throne, having failed to assume control following multiple attempts through political acknowledgement & appeasement from other monarchs and nobility. With the collapse of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, the destruction of Dalaran, and the weakening of the Kingdom of Stromgarde, the political vacuum & social chaos allowed Aliden to take the reins of the Syndicate by force of arms, becoming its undisputed Lord. With the advice & assistance of a group calling themselves the Argus Wake, whom he believed to be a faction of Dalarani who wished to restore their own Kingdom, Aliden moved the Syndicate to reclaiming their homeland after years of occupation. The skeletal occupation army did not falter as quickly or as quietly as Aliden had hoped, but inevitably the Syndicate triumphed. Victorious in their effort but exhausted, the Syndicate were unprepared for the initial Ogre incursions as they struck into the newly reclaimed Syndicate lands. Now furious, Lord Aliden drew on the Wake once more for a counterattack. The Ogres grew bolder with each further push into Alterac, claiming more lives and, to the horror of the Syndicate, were believed to be consuming the fallen as no bodies of were seen or recovered following the conclusions of the early battles. This fear of becoming an Ogre's dinner spread throughout the ranks of the Syndicate quickly and battle lines began to collapse in the western half of the Kingdom, allowing the Ogre invaders to move deeper into the mountains with little resistance. The Wake began entering the battlefield, showcasing their might against the Ogre enemies, burning the dead to show that even in death that those of the Syndicate would not become meals for the vile Ogres. This rallying call was short lived and eventually the Capital fell into the hands of the Crushridge invaders. Expelled once again from his home, Aliden's counterattack failed and the Syndicate withdrew into the east and began moving further south. Under Lord Falconcrest, a nobleman's son and survivor of the first Ogre attack, Syndicate forces began raiding the Arathi Highlands for supplies to further the Syndicate's efforts in Alterac & Hillsbrad. This effort would eventually allow for the Syndicate to claim portions of the city of Stromgarde, further crippling that nation. The Mountains Cast Their Shadows With the Argus Wake burning bodies across all battlefields in Alterac, the Cult of the Damned began taking drastic measures, including raising the dead as the battles were taking place before the Argus Wake had a chance to set them aflame. Skirmishes became chaotic massacres, with the Culists and their minion's presence being described by each side with terror and disgust. The Crushridge believed they were dark arcanists of the Syndicate and the Syndicate believed the Ogres had Scourge or other undead allies. This revelation pushed the Argus Wake forces to work harder in the west in find the Cultists and their base, either to learn if these undead were in service to the Dreadlords (which would make them allies serving the same master), if they were agents of the growing Forsaken nation to the north, or members of the Scourge attempting to secure a foothold in Alterac. As humans and ogres fell, however, the Cult's power grew stronger. They began attempting to assassinate the leaders of both sides, though these attempts failed in part due to increased security in the respective courts of each faction's leader. When a Cult Death Knight was captured by some of the Argus Wake's casters, the stronghold for the Cult in Alterac was exposed along with the entirety of their Cult's plans in Alterac. With a small force of shadow magi and warlocks, the Argus Wake summoned hundreds of demons and assaulted the estate. Unable to raise the demons, the Cult's attempt to hold their position faltered. The Cult agents were slain along with the majority of their recently raised forces. Aftermath The Cult of the Damned's agents in Alterac, having been entirely wiped out, left the remaining undead easy targets to be cut down by the Argus Wake. These actions ultimately secured their position as an ally of the Syndicate and prevented a widescale Scourge presence from establishing itself in Alterac. The Crushridge Clan continued holding onto the Crown of Will, preventing other arcanists, including those of the Argus Wake, from attempting to assert control over the Ogres. The Syndicate, having suffered losses at the hands of the Ogres, nursed a grudge towards the Crushridge and along with harassing wandering travelers would attack unprepared Ogres when possible, leaving their heads on pikes near roadways. Their loss in this first conflict also forced them to expand elsewhere, primarily into the Arathi Highlands. Suffering at the hands of these bandits became widespread in parts of the Kingdom of Stromgarde for many years after. Category:Kingdom of Alterac Category:Crushridge Clan Category:Alterac Syndicate Category:Wars Category:Argus Wake